INVESTMENT
NCD auction rate falls
The weighted average interest rate in the latest auction of 364-day negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs) by the central bank yesterday hit a record low as the domestic market remains awash in liquidity. The NCD auction to sell NT$150 billion (US$4.6 billion) of 364-day NCDs saw the average interest rate fall for a 13th straight month to 0.389 percent, compared with 0.417 percent in the previous sale. Local financial firms offered a total of NT$308.67 billion worth of funds in the bidding, lower than NT$313.62 billion in the previous sale, the central bank said.
BANKING
King’s Town posts income
King’s Town Bank (京城銀行) yesterday posted net income of NT$3.36 billion, or NT$2.8 per share, for the first 10 months of this year. The bank said it still held quality assets as of the end of last month, with a lower-than-average non-performing loan ratio of 0.03 percent and a loan coverage ratio of 1.53 percent. Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) on Monday forecast the bank’s net profit could drop 25 percent to NT$3.91 billion for this year, with earnings per share of NT$3.26, because of falling loans and asset impairment losses.
ELECTRONICS
WT gives guidance
IC distributor WT Microelectronics Co (文曄科技) yesterday said revenue for this quarter would be between NT$26.4 billion and NT$28.1 billion, compared with last quarter’s NT$28.73 billion, as companies in the semiconductor supply chain continue adjusting their inventories. Gross margin is forecast to reach 5.6 percent to 5.8 percent, compared with 5.74 percent last quarter, while the operating margin could range from 2 percent to 2.2 percent, slightly lower than last quarter’s 2.25 percent. WT reported a net profit of NT$508 million last quarter and NT$1.48 billion profit in first three quarters, or NT$3.35 per share.
SOLAR ENERGY
Motech ends run of losses
Solar cell maker Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) on Monday posted NT$45 million in net profit for last quarter, ending four straight quarterly losses, compared with losses of NT$595 million in the second quarter and NT$739 million in the same period last year. Motech attributed the improvement to recovering demand for solar products, which drove its revenue to surge 83.65 percent to NT$7.1 billion last quarter from NT$5.14 billion in the previous quarter.
FOOD AND DRINK
More Starbucks coming
President Starbucks Coffee Corp (統一星巴克) expects to increase the chain’s total number of stores to 365 by the end of this year and 400 next year. It highlighted the target yesterday while introducing two festive Christmas coffee drinks and a variety of packaged foods and cup designs for the holiday. The company also said that its loyalty reward card system is to be revamped next year to include mobile-payment options.
ROBOTICS
Delta unveils new trio
Power management system supplier Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday unveiled three industrial robots at the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai. Delta said one of its new robots, the SCARA DRS60L, could triple production efficiency at a plant as well as help conserve energy. Delta chairman Yancey Hai (海英俊) said the firm would continue to invest in smart industrial solutions and robots to help enterprises raise efficiency, reduce costs and conserve energy.
CHIP WAR: Tariffs on Taiwanese chips would prompt companies to move their factories, but not necessarily to the US, unleashing a ‘global cross-sector tariff war’ US President Donald Trump would “shoot himself in the foot” if he follows through on his recent pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese and other foreign semiconductors entering the US, analysts said. Trump’s plans to raise tariffs on chips manufactured in Taiwan to as high as 100 percent would backfire, macroeconomist Henry Wu (吳嘉隆) said. He would “shoot himself in the foot,” Wu said on Saturday, as such economic measures would lead Taiwanese chip suppliers to pass on additional costs to their US clients and consumers, and ultimately cause another wave of inflation. Trump has claimed that Taiwan took up to
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal